Resealable moisture tight container assembly for strips and the like having a lip snap seal

Abstract

A substantially moisture tight container and lid assembly for storing and packaging moisture-sensitive items comprising an assembly with a container and a lid, the lid is attached by a hinge to an upper housing portion of the container, the lid includes a lip seal member that depends downwardly from the lid, the lip seal member is configured to abut at least a portion of the interior side of the container when the lid is in the closed position resulting in a substantially moisture tight seal between the lid and the lid, and the container assembly further comprising a base portion and an upper housing portion, the upper housing portion is capable of being snap-fit into the base portion by employing a lip seal mechanism to form a substantially moisture-tight seal.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A substantially moisture-tight and resealable container and cap assembly for storing and packaging diagnostic test strips, the assembly comprising:
 a container and a cap, the container being configured for storing diagnostic test strips in an interior thereof; 
 the container having an opening that permits access to the interior of the container, the opening being bound by a lip extending upwards from the container, the lip comprising an outwardly facing rounded extension that projects around the periphery of the lip, the interior having positioned therein a desiccant; 
 the cap being attached to the container by a hinge, the cap being movable about the hinge from an opened position to a closed position so as to form a resealable assembly, the cap having a base portion with an underside, the base portion comprising an outer periphery that extends over at least a portion of the container, the cap being provided with a skirt that extends downwardly therefrom and being positioned at a location on the cap that allows the skirt to enter into a closing relationship with the lip in which the skirt fits over a periphery of the lip, the skirt further comprising an inwardly facing rounded extension, the cap further including a flexible lip seal member that extends downwardly therefrom and is positioned interior to the skirt, a first end of the flexible lip seal member at the cap being wider than a second, free end of the flexible lip seal member such that the flexible lip seal member tapers continuously from the wider first end to the narrower second, free end, the flexible lip seal member being configured to abut at least a portion of the interior side of the lip such that at least the second, free end of the flexible lip seal member is forced to deflect radially inwardly when the cap is moved from the open position to the closed position so as to provide a sealing position, in addition to the closing relationship between the skirt and the lip; 
 wherein the inwardly facing rounded extension and the outwardly facing rounded extension are adapted to abut and interlock with each other when the cap is in the closed position, 
 wherein a space is provided between the lip and the underside of the cap when the cap is in the closed position, and 
 wherein the moisture tight seal between the cap and the container is formed by the lip seal member and the lip when the cap is in the closed position, wherein the flexible lip seal member applies pressure on the lip from the inside out, which in turn applies pressure on the skirt, which tightens a seal formed between the skirt and the lip. 
 
     
     
       2. The substantially moisture-tight and resealable container and cap assembly of  claim 1 , the cap further comprising a tab for facilitating opening and closing of the container and cap assembly, wherein the container is a single piece container, wherein the assembly maintains moisture tight properties after being closed from the opened position more than ten (10) times and wherein the assembly is formed of injection molded plastic material. 
     
     
       3. The substantially moisture-tight and resealable container and cap assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the desiccant is provided in a desiccant entrained polymer insert or liner that surrounds the interior of the container. 
     
     
       4. The substantially moisture-tight and resealable container and cap assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the desiccant is provided in a desiccant entrained polymer insert or liner that surrounds the interior of the container, wherein the desiccant is molecular sieve. 
     
     
       5. The substantially moisture-tight and resealable container and cap assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the hinge has a recess that forms two elements. 
     
     
       6. The substantially moisture-tight and resealable container and cap assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diagnostic test strips lay in a horizontal configuration when stored in the container such that the diagnostic test strips extend parallel to the base portion of the cap when stored in the container. 
     
     
       7. The substantially moisture-tight and resealable container and cap assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the container has a top container surface and the opening extends through the top container surface, the opening having an asymmetric shape, a geometric center of the opening being offset from a geometric center of the top container surface; and
 wherein, a geometric center of the skirt is offset from a geometric center of the base portion. 
 
     
     
       8. The substantially moisture-tight and resealable container and cap assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the hinge has a recess that forms two elements. 
     
     
       9. The substantially moisture-tight and resealable container and cap assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diagnostic test strips lay in a horizontal configuration when stored in the container such that the diagnostic test strips extend parallel to the base portion of the cap when stored in the container. 
     
     
       10. The substantially moisture-tight and resealable container and cap assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the container has a top container surface and the opening extends through the top container surface, the opening having an asymmetric shape, a geometric center of the opening being offset from a geometric center of the top container surface; and
 wherein, a geometric center of the skirt is offset from a geometric center of the base portion.